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In this week’s episode of The Engine Room we pass the baton to our good friends Steam Powered Giraffe (the band behind the official SteamWorld Heist soundtrack). In the game you see the band perform songs from the album in bars and other locations scattered throughout space.

Luckily for us they’re not only in-game robots; the trio exists in real life as well! In the Q&A below the band members tackle questions directly from the SteamWorld community by going into detail about themselves and their work on the game.

The questions include, but are not limited to:

How did the band come to meet with Image & Form?

Are you visiting Europe?

Any favorite characters and hats in SteamWorld Heist?

Is the soundtrack coming to Spotify?

… and more. Enjoy!

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If you were a robot space pirate, where would you charge your batteries after a heist? To Captain Piper and her crew the answer is simple: Space bars! The space bars are water holes scattered throughout space. They’re the go-to places for steam-driven robots wanting to refill on necessary (and unnecessary) liquids.

The bars are also where you recruit new team members, gather information on your missions and purchase new weapons and upgrades. You might also get a glimpse of and hear a tune or two by the musical automaton troupe Steam Powered Giraffe (the real-life robot band composing the game’s soundtrack).

This week’s SteamWorld Ambassador Challenge

There are many different bars in SteamWorld Heist. Most of them with varying goods, bartenders and guests. Every single one of them also has a unique name. That’s where you come in! We want you to name a bar in SteamWorld Heist.

Basic facts about the bar:

The establishment is frequently visited by Royalist military grunts on leave.

The bartender’s name is Whoopsy Tubberbottom.

Steam Powered Giraffe is playing there.

What you win…

If you win you’ll become a SteamWorld Ambassador and be among the first in the world to play SteamWorld Heist before release. The game will launch on one or two platforms at a time starting this fall, and prior to every platform release we’ll send you a download code for the full game. We’ll even add a few spares you can give to your friends. The ambassadors also get access to exclusive information about the SteamWorld games as they progress.

How to enter…

Leave your name suggestion(s) (and ask any questions) in the comments below. We need your ideas by Sunday August 16th at 23:59 CEST (EU) / 5:59 PM EDT (NA). We’ll reveal the winner in next week’s blog update (Tuesday). By submitting your ideas you give us the right to freely use them in our products and services. We reserve the right to judge if the winning entry appears in SteamWorld Heist or not.

You are completely free with your name suggestions, but let’s keep it safe for work and nice. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Today we can confirm the steamy rumors: we ARE working together with our friends Steam Powered Giraffe, probably the most steam powered band in the world. SPG are making the soundtrack and in-game music for SteamWorld Heist!

And in terms of gaming experience it will be something quite out of the ordinary, because SPG will also appear in the game – as themselves. That could have been dull or even inappropriate, had they been any other band. But they aren’t just anybody: the quirky San Diego-based gang, who parade as steam-driven, singing automatons in real life, will be featured as a robotic troupe on an everlasting space tour that Captain Piper and her crew encounter in bars as they recruit.

This was what we were hinting at in last week’s #Heistuesday post. While brainstorming ideas for the Collector’s Edition of SteamWorld Dig, the formidable James Morgan at IndieBox asked Steam Powered Giraffe to make a bonus song for the Dig soundtrack included in the Collector’s Edition. Being Dig fans, they promptly agreed. When James told me I nearly exploded with excitement, and in June we met at E3 and sealed the deal on the entire SteamWorld Heist soundtrack.

The Spine, Brjann and Hatchworth at E3. As you can tell, a most formal occasion.

I love their music, and have to admit I was a bit starstruck at the initial handshake. But we’re very much alike: childish and pretty resourceful. At times they wear a bit more makeup than we do, is all. SteamWorld Heist is a game about fictional steam-driven robots, featuring a real-world band of steam-driven robots. It’s a perfect match.

“When asked if we would like to collaborate with Image and Form on their next SteamWorld game we immediately said yes!” says David Michael “The Spine” Bennett of Steam Powered Giraffe. “We loved SteamWorld Dig, and a steam powered robot band making music for a steam powered robot game? Count us in! We thought it was a match made in heaven and we’ve always wanted to try our hand at making music for one of our favorite pastimes, video games!”

On the collaboration, David says “Working with Image and Form has been a unique and enjoyable experience for the band. There is definitely a ton of passion going into the game, from them, from us, it’s a labor of love and we personally can’t wait to share our contributions to the game with the world.”

As a preview of coming attractions, we’ve made a music video of “Prepare for Boarding”, which can also be heard on the SteamWorld Dig Collector’s Edition soundtrack. While the SteamWorld Heist main theme is yet to come, “Prepare…” is an excellent introduction to the game, performed by Steam Powered Giraffe in all of their steam-driven glory, both real and animated. Enjoy!